About 10 Years Overdue: Finally, Some Protection for Consumers explains Ben Dhesi of Jutton Energy and Hugo Energy
Over 10 years ago, a client contacted me claiming another broker had found a deal 40-50% cheaper than our renewal. It sounded too good to be true, so I asked to see the paperwork. I spent hours reverse-engineering the numbers, only to find the “hook”: almost every major cost was listed as (Pass-Through).
They hadn’t built the actual costs into the unit rate. Once I factored them back in, the “cheaper” deal was actually 30% more expensive than our offer. That 30% extra was all broker margin!!
It frightened the living daylights out of the client, and he stayed with us. But over the next decade, I saw this same tactic deployed again and again—usually by the same broker (who has recently rebranded to hide their tracks). This wasn’t just a ‘sales tactic’; it was a systematic ripping off of GB Plc. I estimate this single ‘scam’ has cost British businesses millions of pounds and likely cost many procurement managers their jobs when the true bills finally landed.
So, a full decade later, this rogue practice is finally being regulated out of existence. While I am happy about this it does show how slowly the wheels of justice turn when it comes to protecting businesses and I believe there has never been any sanctions of the broker in question.
Still, the latest updates from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Energy Ombudsman mark a historic turning point. With Ofgem formally stepping in as the regulator for Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), the era of brokers hiding behind fine print is over.
At Jutton Energy, we see this as a long-overdue correction. For ten years, bad actors profited by keeping consumers in the dark. By masking variable charges as ‘fixed’, they sold a lie. Today, transparency is no longer optional.
Here are the three key shifts we are highlighting for our clients this month:
- 1️⃣ Ofgem Takes the Reins – For too long, the TPI market lacked a central authority, allowing ‘cowboy’ brokers to operate without fear of consequence. Ofgem’s new role as regulator brings mandatory oversight, ensuring that consumer protection is a requirement, not a suggestion.
- 2️⃣ No More Hiding ‘Pass-Through’ Fees – The Energy Ombudsman has made it clear: brokers must provide clear, accurate information on variable network costs like TNUoS and DUoS. The days of ‘accidentally’ forgetting to mention these costs to make a deal look cheaper are over. If a cost is being passed through, it must be declared upfront.
- 3️⃣ A Hard-Won Professionalism – It took ten years of friction and millions in lost business revenue to get here, but the industry is finally stabilising. As complaints across the sector trend downward, the market is finally shedding its “Wild West” reputation. Professionalism is becoming the standard, and the rogues are running out of places to hide.
The Jutton Energy Commitment
We have always believed that energy procurement should be as transparent as it is strategic. To us, regulation isn’t a high bar to reach—it’s the bare minimum. You shouldn’t need a government regulator to tell you to be honest with your clients.
If you are an industrial or commercial energy user, you deserve a partner who explains your risks as clearly as they explain your savings. After ten years of fighting the ‘pass-through scam’ on behalf of our clients, we’re glad the law has finally caught up to our standards.
